The George Mateljan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests oradvertising. Our mission is to help you eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health.

What are the best healthy cooking methods & foods for spring and summer?

We desire warming stews and soups to help keep us warm in the cold winter months, but our bodies have different needs in the warmer months of spring and summer. We want to be outdoors enjoying the warm weather activities and have less time for cooking, especially for preparing meals that take a long time to complete. Spring and summer are also times in the year when the last thing we want to do is eat warming foods.

Spring is a time to cleanse from the heavier foods and more sedentary lifestyle of winter. It is when our body naturally wants to begin eating lighter and refreshing foods. Summer is a time to eat light, vibrant foods that are either cooked quickly or eaten raw, such as salads. Many of the tender young greens come into season in the spring, along with vegetables that are more flavorful when cooked very quickly. In spring and summer, foods are best cooked by:

You can click on all of these cooking methods in our list of animations to be shown exactly how to do them. Not only are these cooking methods best for the vegetables of spring and summer, but they tend to be much more cooling for the body.

Some of the World's Healthiest Foods that are coming into season for spring and summer are listed below. As you can see, Nature provides us with lighter fresh fruits and vegetables during the warm weather months. Eating more cooling foods in the warm weather and warming foods in the colder months helps to create a balance and harmony for health and well being.

Try looking up these foods in our list of World's Healthiest Foods to support eating these seasonal ingredients. We also have a multitude of recipes that are perfect for these two seasons. They incorporate these foods and our healthy, quick and easy cooking methods. Here are just a few of our favorites. All these recipes are quick and easy to prepare, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy playful outdoor summer activities.

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For education only, consult a healthcare practitioner for any health problems.

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Over 100 Quick &Easy Recipes

Our Recipe Assistant will help you find the recipe that suits your personal needs. The majority of recipes we offer can be both prepared and cooked in 20 minutes or less from start to finish; a whole meal can be prepared in 30 minutes. A number of them can also be prepared ahead of time and enjoyed later.